Hot Off the Press

Nothing but Bad News from GM

Thursday, March 25, 2004

In separate stories earlier this week, General Motors has sued two of its suppliers over rising steel prices because the suppliers sought to impose premiums on contracts to pass along some of the steel-price hikes; and announced plans to shift millions of dollars worth of white-collar jobs to India. GM filed lawsuits against steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc. and steel-fastener manufacturer Textron Inc. after first paying higher-than-contracted prices to avoid a disruption in its business. The white-collar outsourcing move is part of a cost-cutting program that GM hopes will slash its manufacturing costs by 25 percent by the end of 2005, according to a story in the Detroit News.

Airgas Offers Traveling How-to-Buy-Gases Seminars

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Airgas, Inc., Chicago, IL, offers traveling seminars that address the basics of purchasing laboratory gases—understanding purity, buying on value, avoiding common mistakes and improving performance. The company, a distributor of industrial, specialty and medical gases, will offer 40 How to Buy Gases seminars in about 30 states during the next six months.
For seminar locations or to sign up, visit www.airgas.com.